I am a science junky, if there is something new and interesting going on I want to know. One of the rapidly emerging new fields of science is called nanotechnology. Nanotechnology refers to efforts to operate and create chemicals and devices on the nanometer level (roughly a millionth of a millimeter). Wikpedia has a decent overview of the concept and related issues.
Nano-engineering holds the promise of creating compounds or even devices that operate at the atomic level. From self-repairing fabrics to tiny machines that might be able to repair dangerous holes in the ozone the science is one where the fine line between fact and fiction is often unclear. It is not an overstatement to say that what just three years ago would have been science fiction in regards to nanotechnology is increasingly becoming scientific reality.
One of the early writers in this space was Eric Drexler whose MIT doctoral dissertation in the early 1980s coined the term. Drexler hypothesized about the incredible benefits of these technologies while also painting a picture of the apocalypse brought about by nanotechnology run amok. His darkest scenario involved a mutation in tiny nano-machines that were initially intended to repair the earth’s atmosphere but then instead began to consume it, leaving Earth without a shield from the Sun dooming everyone to death.
For the most part, the potential downside of nanotechnology has been portrayed as being almost a luddite reaction. However, there is an interesting new study out that argues that one type of nanomaterial (the buckyball) might have serious health and environmental impacts.
Continue reading "Beware the Buckyball" »
